The lifeboat swung over the water and Rammed into the hull. The gilt-skeleton Tool toppled, then righted herself. The ghost of Tool—Kimiko—hung in the air drifting behind the skeleton. She wished she could knock some sense into that pile of bones.
Shouts of battle echoed through the hull. The sounds of defeat. Mccalla’s war cry broke a momentary silence, and the skirmish went on.
“We can’t run away! The captain will die without us,” she said, over the roar.
The skeleton shook her head. The ghost stuck her head through the hull and peered inside. She felt the presence of a sorcerer nearby who could snare her in a heartbeat. She knew the feeling. She slipped further into the dark hull. I should go and help anyway. Who cares if I get caught. If this useless bag of bones won’t help us, that’s no concern of mine. But she lingered. The magic is like a boot, raised, thick-soled, and ready to grind me into the dirt. She shivered.
Outside, the lifeboat lurched again. Tool fell and silently cursed her limbs, weighed down by the golden ornaments built into her bones.
Overhead, a silhouette appeared on the deck railing—black against the flashing sky. A girl. A hood was pulled over her head, but her hair still blew like a tattered flag in the wind. The girl clutched something to her chest, and leapt over the railing. Landing beside Tool, she threw back her hood and looked with alarm at the skeleton before her. Her face contorted, calculating. Then speaking softly, she thrust the book into the skeleton’s arms. With a few final words, she turned and fled into the next lifeboat, swinging from the ropes.
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Faces appeared overhead. Shouts. Soldiers of the Enemy, in horned helmets. Tool pressed herself against the hull. Her long, bony fingers held the book close to her ribcage.
If she could breathe, she would have held her breath.
Kimiko appeared outside the hull and found Tool in the shadows. “You’re a coward,” she said. “You should have stayed with the captain.”
Tool said nothing, but her jaw twitched. Kimiko shook her head. “We aren’t supposed to be in the lifeboats, let alone use them. These are for the crew.”
Tool again said nothing, but slowly untied the knots on either side.
“Stop this right now. These lifeboats are for people. They’ll disenchant you if they catch you. Or worse, they’ll put you back in the catacombs. Is that what you want?”
Tool held up the book.
“Mission? What mission?”
The lifeboat dropped.
Kimiko screamed.